Magik & Colossus Review – A Long Needed Deep Dive into the Rasputin Relationship
What defines the relationship between the Rasputin siblings? As a young child, Illyana Rasputin was taken by Arcade, alongside several of the X-Men’s other allies. Before she could return home, she fell into Limbo, where she was raised by the evil sorcerer Belasco until she took that realm as her own through the forging of a sword made from her own soul. She returns to the present, years older, and tells no one what she went through. Colossus is presumed dead not long after, though he reunites with his sister briefly in what she believes to be a dream to fight side by side. Before she can learn the truth, Illyana sacrifices herself to stop Limbo spreading to Earth, and her younger self is returned. That younger self soon dies of the Legacy virus, sending Colossus to the side of the Acolytes. and eventually to destroy the virus once and for all, along with his life. Eventually Colossus returns, then Magik, but the two never truly reunite for long. Magik brings hell to Earth, makes her brother the Juggernaut, and the two fight over the Phoenix force. Magik finds some semblance of peace on Krakoa, passing the responsibilities of Limbo over to another. Colossus finds himself a puppet of his brother, Mikhail, forced to betray his country, his friends, his loves, until he kills Mikhail himself.
So what defines the relationship between the Rasputin siblings? Self sacrifice. Two people who love each other so dearly but are so used to losing each other that the only way they can express it is dying for the other. From the opening pages of Magik & Colossus #1, we find Colossus yet again willing to die to protect others rather than continue to fight, burdened by his shame from the things he’s done and been forced to do. This internal struggle, as Colossus is forced to rediscover his will to live and repair his fractured relationship with his sister, is what drives Ashely Allen and German Peralta’s miniseries that provides a much needed deep dive into the long lasting but underexplored sibling relationship.
As the two siblings return home to their once childhood home, we see the contrast between their trauma and how they deal with it. Yana seeks to run away, to leave her old home behind fully and return to her new home, and her new family. She feels she’s outgrown her childhood, and sees Piotr has too. He sees his childhood home as a chance to rebuild, to pretend to be a happy family where everything is normal again, a desperate lie he can’t even convince himself of, yet alone his sister, but clings desperately too. Peralta’s pencils capture such subtleties in his protagonist’s faces, telling the true stories behind their words so well that Allen’s narration is often defunct. As the two are immediately forced into battle (it is a superhero comic after all), we get a beautiful moment between the two as Magik strips off the beard, rags, and blood covering her brother to replace it with his classic costume. “Nothing a bit of magic can’t fix”, she says, as the two share a brief smile that shows the deep love between the two that continues to bring them back together despite everything life throws at them, and they throw at each other.
Allen delves deeper into the relationship as the book goes, the habit of self sacrifice between the siblings only heightens the distrust between the two. Each sibling is too preoccupied with jumping in front of the bullet heading towards the other that they can’t win battles, the unwillingness to trust each other to not actually kill themselves for the other disrupting the rhythm each wishes would come naturally to the other. Magik’s self reliance leaves her overestimating her own ability at times and unwilling to accept her brother’s help, whereas Colossus still sees her as a frightened child he must protect, and can’t see how capable she truly is. Alongside their present day battles, Allen weaves in several flashbacks to the two’s relationship with their parents that beautifully parallel their current day struggles and remind you of the relationship that once existed between them when they were just Piotr and Illyana, no powers, no demons, no X-Men.
As the Rasputins explore Russia, they face several creatures from Russian folklore all brilliantly designed by German Peralta. From rural forests to a beautifully rendered St Petersburg, Peralta and Arthur Hesli on colours make a fantastic team and build beautiful environments for the story. One particular element that Peralta captures so well is Colossus height. It’s a small detail but adds so much personality that Colossus can truly live up to his name, whether it’s crouching under marker stalls in quiet moments or lumbering through a doorway like an intimidating monster. There’s some great magical flair at times too that really cements Peralta as a definitive Magik artist. One weak aspect of the book is the covers, while Nakayama is a great artist each cover is basically the same, and lacks any real relation to the book’s interiors. For a book with such great interior art, it’s disappointing that the covers won’t pop on the shelf the way they should.
One of the most interesting parts of this relationship is between Colossus and the “Darkchylde”, Magik’s demonic side, whose relationship to Illyana herself changes frequently but since the previous Magik miniseries, also by the same creative team, has landed as less of an alternate persona but a protective force Magik falls into when overwhelmed with emotion, typically anger, although she has some control over it. From their first encounter, even noticing the Darkchylde while Illyana is clearly in complete control derails their conversation, sending both into their own spirals of shame. To Piotr, the Darkchylde is a clear reminder of his failure in Illyana, all the times he should have been there, should have defended her, but was not there. Yana interprets this shame differently though, as Piotr being unable to look at what his sister has become, not forgiving her sins and ashamed of who she is. Both characters have tough exteriors (sometimes literal) and this single reminder of their past cuts through both instantly. Although not a main focus, we also get to see the Colossus touch on the relationship between Magik and Cyclops, who has fallen into a clear “older brother” role in Colossus absence, which is an obvious source of jealousy.
The main plot of this book is probably its weakest aspect, a fun enough adventure that takes the Rasputins through a variety of Russian folklore to face a new magical enemy threatening their home country. We meet some interesting new faces along the way both friend and foe, which is nice to expand the supporting casts of the Rasputins beyond their usual Mutant friends. The book’s plot is ultimately a vessel for the stellar character work between the two siblings, and that more than makes up for any weak points in the story.
Magik is one of my favourite X-Men characters, but Colossus is one I’ve been quite mixed on. While I enjoy his early stories (Kitty weirdness aside), he’s struggled to fit into an increasingly darker X-Universe since his return in Astonishing X-Men. When this book was announced, I was a little annoyed Magik was getting weighed down with her older brother, but Allen and Peralta ended up creating a timeless story that cuts to the heart of the relationship between them, taking everything they’ve been through and digging into it in a way that feels raw and personal and gives me a whole new appreciation for both characters. It serves as both an evergreen story to meet the two and a potential fresh new start for their future, Magik & Colossus is a must read for fans of either character and a perfect self contained story for new fans.
Main Cover
THE MUTANT SIBLINGS REUNITE! Illyana Rasputin is a cynical sorceress with power harnessed from the dark realm of Limbo. Piotr Rasputin is made of metal, but with a heart much softer than his exterior. But despite being family, blood does not run thicker than water! When they return to their mother country, they discover ancient monsters from Russian folklore preying on the innocent! Can these two mutant siblings set aside their differences to save their country? The talented creative team of MAGIK, Ashley Allen and Germán Peralta, reunite for an X-Men story full of epic fights, mysticism and family drama!
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